Event Nine.

[awashmods]

Thus, on Life’s gloomy sea, Heareth the marinere Voices sweet, from far and near, Ever singing in his ear, “Here is rest and peace for thee!”

t's a dark night, and the sounds of feet in the darkness are further dampened and hidden by even more magic, as they are lured away by the soft sounds of dreams that are too good to be true, leaving the Town much, much emptier than when it began. On one side, an island, and a ticking clock to a gruesome death. On the other, the slow realization that those bonds everyone has been forging might mean much, much more than they first thought. Welcome to Awash's ninth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to start your own posts or logs for this event as well. If there are any questions, please ask them here. Please be sure to very clearly mark where your characters are in your prompts, so people know which they can tag depending on which group they are in. Thank you!

Comments

[swordfucker]

I won't. I'm not an idiot.

[So he says.... the jury's still out. Anyway, good. If the heart stuff still helps, he'll make him more later, to keep him at three. Instead of touching this crystal, he sort of steps around it, eyeing it.]

It's from one of those sirens, right? Are you going to try it on that sword of yours?

[passio]

[ dextera nods. like the jorogumo, the sirens were a rarity, an oddity even within the town, and it only made sense to try to purify one. ]

Maybe… we can figure out “why.”

[ why they did any of this, because it doesn’t feel like it was just hunger. ]

[swordfucker]

What do you mean, why? How can you gather something like that?

[Maybe he doesn't understand this ability of Dextera's as much as he thought he did.]

[passio]

Motivation. History. I knew a man… who could read it.

[ there’s no baroquemonger here to tell all that from the crystals, but they do have shiho. he’s afraid to rely on her powers too much, but… of anyone, she seems like the best bet. ]

It’s a “soul.” Everything is there.

[swordfucker]

Knew a man, huh. So who can read it here?

[A normal, casual question he figures will be an easy answer as his eyes tear away from that crystal. God, it really is so tempting to touch.]

Holding yours after the bogeyman felt different than the first one you gave me, too. I could tell that much. [It was so sad]

[passio]

[ as much as he wants to share everything with guren, he doesn’t want to give away shiho’s secret if guren doesn’t know—maybe it’s obvious, maybe it isn’t, but he shakes his head. ]

I know someone, but I have to keep it secret.

[ he’s not going to lie, since guren would see right through it anyway. ]

[swordfucker]

[...That's such a pure response, Guren feels a little bad for asking. Especially since now he blinks at him and he has to pretend he's not feeling even a little jilted at that. It's not that he doesn't do that well, it's more that Dextera probably knows his silence means more thoughts.]

Oh. [But the more he tries to think of more words, the less he comes up with. So, few words it is...] Okay.

[That's fine... Maybe he can figure it out on his own. Even if that's not the point and he doesn't actually care!!!

Anyway, that mild feeling aside,]

I'd like to know what you find out, at least.

[passio]

[ oh no… guren. dextera wouldn’t go so far as to say that he looks hurt, but dextera can definitely sense that guren is a little more vulnerable at that response than he would have been had dextera been able to reveal everything. ]

I trust you. But it’s a precious secret.

[ in fact, he uses the sign for “treasure,” whether or not guren knows enough to pick up on that subtlety outside of the town’s magic. dextera gets more fluent every day. ]

I’ll tell you everything I find out.

[swordfucker]

I know...

[ The tsun hits, but it’s still so minor with Dextera. ] It’s fine. All I said was okay.

[ But before his over defensiveness can become too much, he moves back across the room to find Leliel and sit next to her. He’s going to pet the chicken. ]

But good. It’s important for understanding the town. What else can you do with that thing? Anything I’m missing still?

[passio]

[ leliel is a good girl who does not sense that minor tsun at all, and she moves a little closer to guren. she’s softer than the average hen, and so she definitely feels good to pet. the perfect defensive escape route. ]

…

[ dextera has to think about that for a second. the idea sephirahs… they’re still a mystery to him, in a lot of ways. ]

I don’t know. There are things… I never got to try.

[swordfucker]

[ petting a chicken is more soothing than it should be, and then he focuses on that answer, and any leftover silly feelings are gone. ]

Messing with a soul is risky stuff. It doesn’t sound that far off from cursed gear. Beneficial, but it cost so many lives to develop... So finding other uses for something like that could come at a serious cost.

[passio]

[ dextera nods, but he’s still trying to draw on all he knows—something does occur to him, and it’s clear in the way he hesitates that not only has he thought of something, he’s reluctant to share it.

it’s a much bigger deal than shiho’s powers, though. ]

The Archangel…

[ always that guy, huh! ]

He knows how to use them.

[swordfucker]

[Of course he does, he wants to say, but he holds back, bringing his hand to his mouth.]

What does he use them for?

[passio]

[ anything? everything? dextera doesn’t know how to describe it, and although guren isn’t allowed to touch the crystal, dextera is. he reaches out, drawing it into his hand. ]

…

[ he shakes his head. ]

I don’t know. He didn’t tell me.

[swordfucker]

...

[Everything bothers him about the Archangel, but it bothers him that Dextera never asked, or at least never pushed beyond accepting that, too. Maybe he's being unfair, though. He drops his hand again, back to petting Leliel.]

Does it do anything strange to you, when you touch it? Or is it different for you?

[passio]

[ maybe guren will never understand his relationship with the archangel—dextera doesn’t really understand it himself. it’s hard to think about, and impossible to comprehend.

leliel is falling asleep under guren’s hand, her head sinking down into her fluff. ]

…

[ dextera shakes his head. ]

It’s different. Maybe because I made it.

[swordfucker]

Maybe.

[Guren is a little quiet at all of this, eventually glancing down to Leliel as he pets her. She's sweet, nodding off like this. He doesn't want to get up and ruin it. But he doesn't want to let this strange feeling stretch on any longer, either.]

Come here, sit down again. You feel better, right? That sickness is gone. It has to mean that everyone's safe. [They don't have to hurry away.]

[passio]

…?

[ dextera is so used to his own negativity about his life that he doesn’t realize how odd he’s made the mood until this moment. immediately, wanting to rectify it, he lets the crystal float away again and moves to join guren on the bed.

cleaning up can wait until they feel better. ]

You like her.

[ the chicken… ]

[swordfucker]

She's just a chicken.

[That's his story and he's sticking to it. Still, his briefly embarrassed expression says enough. But with Dextera sitting closeby again, he reaches his free hand to take one of Dextera's, pulling it across his own lap to find Leliel and encourage him to join in the petting.

He's just thinking, again, about how horrible it would have been if Dextera were one of the ones that disappeared days ago. He's not sure he would have been able to take it. He doesn't know what made Dextera resist the song, or if he ever heard it, but he's so grateful.]

I just don't feel like moving anywhere else, that's all. [That's why he's lovingly petting a chicken.]

[passio]

[ dextera reaches over to pet leliel as well, since he would never deny himself the opportunity to do so. he strokes her soft feathers, slowly, allowing the tension to ease naturally—as it does, he moves closer to guren, until his head is resting on guren’s shoulder.

his thoughts are much the same. he’s lucky, so lucky, that guren was here with him. ]

Will you stay?

[ he’s going to ask every time, even if one day they move into the same house—a fear of loss, of course, permeates everything he does. ]

[swordfucker]

Of course.

[ His own fingers slow until his hand is just resting lightly over Leliel’s gently breathing body, and he’s focused on Dextera’s weight against him. On every thought about how he didn’t do enough, but also every thought that they’re safe. ]

Not tired of me yet?

[passio]

[ leliel is also in the habit of snoring, and so each gentle exhale is accompanied by a whistle. dextera loves it, and he loves her. his chicken is so unfairly adorable—it’s too bad ochako’s flower crown for her has dried out by now. ]

Never.

[ that one is written on guren’s arm, slow and loving. he turns his face, like he’s going to kiss guren’s shoulder, but he’s just resting his mouth against it. he loves guren with everything he has. ]

Thank you.

[swordfucker]

For what?

[He genuinely seems confused at that thank you, turning just slightly to look at Dextera as he rests his mouth there. He doesn't even connect it with the idea that asking him if he was staying could end in a thank you, either... Or anything that came before all of this, too. He hasn't done anything. Nothing right, anyway.]

[passio]

[ except guren has done everything, hasn’t he? dextera couldn’t ask for a better person to be with—to literally be with, right here and now, but also to have. ]

You.

[ that’s pretty cheesy, but it’s also what feels right. he traces guren’s chest, lightly, where his heart is. honestly, he’s so peaceful right now he could go back to sleep, even if they should probably do something besides sit in bed. ]

[swordfucker]

[Guren can't help but smile at that. His chest feels warm, and even if there's always the feeling of a threat, that things could always crumble away, it's not nearly as strong with Dextera. He's optimistic. He wants to believe it can work out, no matter what.

He stops petting Leliel so he can turn more into Dextera, interrupting that cute leaning so he can take his face and kiss him. It's fine if he was eating hearts hours ago, shh. Maybe the purification helped.]